Chelsea and manager Mauricio Pochettino are still unable to shake off the unwanted label of being too masculine after a heartbreaking defeat at Wembley. FA Cup semi-final match against Manchester City.
Harsh as it may seem, the cruel reality is that Chelsea and Pochettino once again came up short in a crucial moment, and the pain is even worse as many of their wounds were, after all, self-inflicted. That means it was.
Chelsea missed out on a number of missed chances in February's Carabao Cup final against a young and injury-plagued Liverpool. And they echoed that sentiment here after Bernardo Silva's late goal put holders City back into the FA Cup final.
There was also the unfortunate incident in which referee Michael Oliver refused to award a penalty after the video assistant referee reviewed what appeared to be Jack Grealish's handball from Cole Palmer's second-half free-kick and ruled there was no foul. Stories will also be told.
Chelsea will also know that they had enough chances to make the penalty claim irrelevant, but just like against Liverpool, chances fell short, largely due to striker Nicholas Jackson's misfiring. It appeared and disappeared.
That leaves the door open to the ruthlessness of a great team, even if that great team seems fed up and playing solely on muscle memory.
The same was true for City, who continued to have a tough run after losing on penalties to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
But six minutes before the end of the game, Kevin De Bruyne's cross took advantage of Chelsea's mistake, setting up Silva's winning goal at the far post. It was a moment of redemption for Silva after his casual chipping penalty was easily saved by keeper Andriy Lunin and played a key role in their Champions League exit.
Pochettino is still chasing his first trophy for England and has another chance to miss out on a silver medal in order to maintain a record that puts him in the category of very good managers, although he is not a member of the elite group.
He organized and motivated Chelsea well, but when it came down to it, his team once again failed to win. This was particularly disappointing as he was secretly confident of winning the final against either Coventry City or Manchester United on 18 May. .
Pochettino clearly felt Chelsea had been badly wronged by the penalty incident, but Jackson's wayward finish lifted City from sinking under the weight of fatigue.
Jackson is a speedy, smooth runner, but lacks the relentless edge in front of the basket in key moments. Especially in the first half, when he tried to get past City keeper Stefan Ortega rather than shoot, and when he conceded two further big chances. Waste of the second half.
This was the deciding factor. Yes, City showed the champions' mentality of persevering and winning, but the conditions were right for Chelsea to win and once again they overcame them.
One of the major flaws in the great shotgun of dysfunctional transfers that Chelsea embarked on during the Todd Boley era is that none of this massive free spending has resulted in a reliable striker.
This is more than an oversight. It bordered on negligence, and it haunted us against City as much as it did against Liverpool.
Wembley was once a happy hunting ground for Chelsea, but in recent seasons it has turned into a nightmare, with Manchester City in the 2019 League Cup final, Arsenal in the 2020 FA Cup final and Arsenal in the 2021 FA Cup final. They lost to Leicester City in the 2022 league match. Then there was the FA Cup final against Liverpool in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw, this season's League Cup final against Liverpool, and now this.
Chelsea have failed to score in five of their last six games at Wembley.
There are signs in Pochettino's defense that Chelsea are moving in the right direction, but their record at pressure points this season shows this is a work in progress for all the luxury buildings. .
Pochettino will need time and patience if he is to create a finished product. The big question is whether he will get it.
It was a tribute to City's pedigree and the built-in resilience that every elite team requires, having spent enough time to deliver the semi-final decisive moment, but it remains a bad memory for Chelsea. was the sending off of Josep Guardiola's team. hook.
City lacked their usual energy and quality, which is understandable given Wednesday's struggles, but Guardiola will play in the semi-finals on Saturday, with Manchester United and Coventry City, who have no European contracts, playing here on Sunday. I was furious at the fact that I had to fight.
City pulled it off because they have a track record of winners who know how to get the job done even when they're struggling. Chelsea and Pochettino are not like that.
And the difference was there for everyone to see once again as City qualified for the domestic Premier League and FA Cup double.
